United Polo Players Association has finally heaved a sigh of relief after the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee, led by its chairman Alan Peter Cayetano, approved the inclusion of its sport in the biennial meet which the country will be hosting late this year......»»

Chef Chele Gonzalez established “Serie Kulynarya,” a collaborative series with prominent people from all over the world who share his passion for constant education, as well as the desire to share and exchange knowledge about the culinary scene......»»

Fil-Canadian forward Sean Anthony emerged as the first Cignal-PBA Press Corps Player of the Week for the 2019 season after contributing huge numbers in NorthPort’s strong start in the Philippine Cup. A known hardworker on both ends of the floor, the 6-foot-4 Anthony registered averages of 20.5 points 7.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 4.0 steals as NorthPort beat Blackwater followed by NLEX in its first two assignments in the All-Filipino conference. In the Batang Pier’s opening game, Anthony came off the bench and scored 19 points, hauled down five rebounds, issued the same number of assists and one steal as they ripped the Elite, 117-91 last January 16. Four days later, the PBA’s sixth overall pick in the 2010 rookie draft sizzled with 22 points, nine rebounds, seven steals and five assists to power NorthPort to a 95-90 win over NLEX. NorthPort’s back-to-back wins marked the franchise’s best season start in two years. “We know Sean, laban lang ng laban,” NorthPort coach Pido Jarencio said after his team’s five-point win over NLEX on Sunday. “Sixth man nga namin, pero nag-deliver, nag-double double, tapos 'yung hustle di tumitigil.” Anthony bested teammates Mo Tautuaa and Robert Bolick, along with Phoenix’s Jason Perkins, Alex Mallari and Justin Chua for the weekly citation. NorthPort will be gunning for a third straight win this Friday when it collides with Columbian Dyip at the Ynares Center in Antipolo. .....»»

Last season, Jose Rizal University had its worst showing in the Vergel Meneses era. Still, the Heavy Bombers have reason to hope in the new year in the form of John Amores. “Sa JRU pa rin po ako mag-college,” he said. Amores, a 6-foot-2 stocky swingman, was the leader of the Light Bomber crew that was the pleasant surprise of the NCAA 94 Juniors a year ago. As they made a welcome return to the Final Four, so did Amores make himself the Most Improved Player with per game counts of a team-best 17.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.3 steals. Now, the 19-year-old has committed to help JRU’s Seniors squad make its own welcome return to the Final Four. Amores will add much-needed scoring to the Heavy Bombers who trudged through a 3-15 campaign a season ago. He is also expected to bring over his physical defense in the next level. Alongside him will be another John the Kalentong ballers are hoping to be a huge help for them. John Delos Santos, an explosive point guard, will still be with his running mate, now for JRU Seniors. He averaged 11.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 2.3 steals last year as the Light Bombers’ court general. Amores and Delos Santos are expected to make an immediate impact so that team leader Jed Mendoza will finally get the supporting cast he needs. --- Follow this writer on Twitter, @riegogogo......»»

Magnolia guard Mark Barroca is very much pumped-up to don the national colors once again after eight years. So when head coach Yeng Guiao called for the team’s first training session for the sixth and last qualifying window for the 2019 FIBA World Cup, the 32-year old Magnolia Hotshots backcourt star was one of the early players to arrive at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City. Unfortunately, the training session turned into just an orientation with just 10 players showing up and just six including Barroca participating in a quick shoot around. But it didn’t dampen Barroca’s return as a member of the national team. “Sobrang excited ako makapaglaro dito. Sabi ni coach kanina ‘yung commitment nga sobrang kung meron pang 200 percent na commitment, ‘yun committed ako, so why not?” said Barroca, a pioneer of the then Smart Gilas program. “Bibigay ko talaga ‘yung best (ko), bibigay ko yung time ko dito ngayon na makapaglaro ulit.” Barroca last played for the national team back in 2011 during the FIBA Asia Championship where the country placed fourth. “Siyempre as a player, lahat ng players gusto mag-national team so ito napili din ako so ibibigay ko yung best ko, yung time ko, yung puso,” said Barroca. “’Di na rin ako nagi-expect na makuha dito pero kinuha nila ako siyempre sobrang saya ko rin sobrang tine-treasure ko ‘yung pagkakuha nila dito sa akin. Alam mo yun, na-pump up ako e na kinuha nila ako,” he added. Barroca was joined by Roger Pogoy, Marcio Lassiter, Gabe Norwood, Troy Rosario, Jayson Castro, June Mar Fajardo, Poy Erram, Raymnond Almazan and Japeth Aguilar. Paul Lee and Scottie Thompson skipped the first training day while naturalized player Andray Blatche has yet to arrive in the country. Back-up naturalized player Christian Standhardinger has recently stated that he’s focused on recovering from knee injury and playing for San Miguel in the ongoing 2019 PBA Philippine Cup. Gilas is preparing for two must-win games against Qatar on February 21 and Kazakhstan on February 25. The national squad will fly to the Middle East on the second week of Ferbuary for a series of tune up matches. Gilas dropped its last two games on nail-biting fashions – against Kazakhstan (92-88) and Iran (78-70) last December. The national team is 1-3 in the last four games, and the two setbacks dropped the Philippines to fourth place with a 5-5 card in Group F behind Australia (9-1), Iran (7-3) and Japan (6-4). --- Follow this writer on Twitter, @fromtheriles.....»»

Aaron Fermin missed out on back-to-back MVPs as his team failed to make the Final Four in his last two years in the NCAA Juniors. Now, the 6-foot-5 big man will be joining an Adamson University side that is locked into contention for the playoffs for the foreseeable future. “Sa Adamson na po ako,” he said. Fermin is the Soaring Falcons’ first big get from the local high school ranks as the likes of Jerrick Ahanmisi and Sean Manganti were recruits from the US. In the 18-year-old’s final season for Arellano High School, he averaged 15.6 points, 16.2 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks. He topped the MVP leaderboard, but did not win the award because they did not advance to the Final Four. That was also the same story in 2017 as he was, head and shoulders, the top individual player in the tournament, showcasing both the physical and mental tools to make an impact on either end. Because the Braves did not make the playoffs, however, he also did not take home the trophy. Now, Fermin will be getting together with sniper Ahanmisi, versatile Simon Camacho, heady Jerom Lastimosa, and steady Koko Pingoy for an Adamson side coming off its best finish in the Franz Pumaren era. Alongside all that young talent, the Nueva Ecija native said learning under coach Franz was the clincher for his commitment to the blue and white. “Siyempre po, pinili ko rito kasi marami akong matututunan kay coach Franz,” he said. Securing the services of Fermin is a big-time beginning to the fresh two-year contract extension Pumaren had just signed last Friday. --- Follow this writer on Twitter, @riegogogo......»»

Clint Escamis was having for himself a breakout season in last year’s NCAA 94 Juniors. Late in the second round of the tournament, however, he incurred what appeared to be a left knee injury. He then missed the Red Robins’ remaining games in the elimination round before returning to action in the Final Four. It was clear, though, that Escamis wasn’t himself, looking like he had lost his burst even as his shooting stroke was still there. Now nearly two months after Mapua won the championship with him on the sidelines, what was initially diagnosed as a knee sprain actually turned out to be an ACL tear. The good news is that last week, the 5-foot-11 playmaker finally had surgery to repair the ACL tear. Now, he has already begun the process of recovery. And when Escamis finally takes to the court anew, he is only adamant he will be better than ever. “I promise to get back as soon as possible so I can do what I do best which is to play hard and help my team win,” he said. He then continued, “I will not take this second chance for granted and I will make sure I’m always healthy and in the proper mindset when I go out to play.” The 18-year-old has already used up his eligibility in the Juniors and, therefore, will be returning to the action in the collegiate level. For now, however, he is yet to decide where exactly he will be making his return in. “Wala pa po akong decision for college. Focus po muna sa recovery,” he said. What is certain, though, is that he vows to give his all wherever he ends up. As he put it, “After this injury, makikita po ninyo ang new and improved Clint Escamis. Clint Escamis 2.0 po talaga.” According to sources, in the mix for the commitment of Escamis is former mentor Randy Alcantara who is now head coach of the Cardinals. University of the East is also said to have great interest in him. --- Follow this writer on Twitter, @riegogogo......»»

As the House of Representatives Committee on Justice approved the draft of the proposed legislation to lower the age for criminal liability Monday, Jan. 21, more groups advocating children and youth welfare in Northern Luzon expressed condemnation and calls on the government to pursue cases and jail corrupt officials and violators of human rights instead......»»

IN A BusinessWorld Report quoting the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation, Inc. (SEIPI) said that our value of electronics exports in the 11 months to November rose 4.57% year-on-year,. SEIPI also said shipments in the period totaled US$34.87 billion, against the year-earlier US$33.5 billion. Electronics products accounted for 55.56% of total Philippine […] The post Why our increasing electronics exports are good appeared first on The Daily Guardian......»»

YESTERDAY I quoted from the published letter of Councilors Wilson Gamboa and Claudio Puentevella to the Development Bank of the Philippines regarding the so-called public hearing last year on the proposed loan. The dates are crucial to prove that this so-called public hearing was a consciously contrived farce, a sham, “just to comply” with the […] The post Plundering Bacolod’s treasury-6 appeared first on The Daily Guardian......»»

MANILA, Philippines --- The Senate adopted on Monday the recommendation of a Senate panel to conduct a lifestyle check and further investigate personalities tagged in the controversial P11-billion crystal meth shipment that was unearthed in August 2018. READ:PDEA chief now says magnetic lifters contained P11B 'shabu' READ:PDEA to file raps against those involved in P11B smuggled 'shabu' In his sponsorship speech on Committee Report No. 544, Sen. Richard Gordon, blue ribbon committee chair, noted that despite previous investigations into the illegal shabu shipments into the country, "big amount of drugs still kept coming in our country through the use of the same modus operan...Keep on reading: Senate OKs probe of people linked to P11-B ‘shabu’ shipment.....»»

Here is a list of the 5 best Chinese stocks in the Chinese stock market: Alibaba (BABA) Sina (SINA) NetEase (NTES) Yum China (YUMC) Baozun (BZUN) Alibaba, Sina, NetEase, and Baozun are internet stocks while Yum China is a fast-food corporation. All of these companies have experienced tremendous growth, and they offer investors unique opportunities for quality investments in China, so let's examine each one. Alibaba (BABA) Alibaba is a Chinese corporation that focuses on the internet and technology. It provides a wide variety of services and solutions for online and mobile commerce. It operates in four segments: cloud computing, innovation initiatives, core commerce,...Keep on reading: Chinese Stock Market: Top 5 Stocks To Watch.....»»

A critical challenge that Filipinos face today is how to confront an aggressive China without embracing racism, without getting blinded by a sinister worldview that would wreck us as a people and weaken our ability to face a belligerent superpower. Sadly, National Artist F. Sionil Jose, a man I once admired, has become one of the champions of a new wave of anti-Chinese xenophobia. Last week, Frankie Jose took his incoherent anti-Chinese Filipino dogma to a stunningly dangerous level. In his latest column, Can We Still Trust America?, Frankie Jose essentially endorsed violence against Chinese Filipinos. The piece begins by reviewing the changing geopolitical landscape in Sout...Keep on reading: F. Sionil Jose’s dangerous racism.....»»

Bataan Rep. Geraldine B. Roman congratulated People’s Champ and Sen. Manny Pacquiao for his victory against challenger Adrien Broner on Sunday calling the Filipino boxer a true and inspiring icon in the world of sports. “Once again, the 40-year old Senator Manny Pacquiao has given the Philippines great pride and honor by winning a unanimous […].....»»

Experiencing a year full of growth in 2018, the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), under the guidance of the Department of Transportation (DoTr), will continue to exert utmost efforts to ensure the safety, security, and comfort of the public at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). “Passenger safety and security remain top priorities, and the […].....»»